Strengthening Minority-Serving Institutions, Expanding Pell and Creating Educational Opportunity for All Students

WHEREAS, our system of higher education is a public good that strengthens our nation through creating pathways for individual growth and economic prosperity for students, strengthening civic and community involvement, and driving state and regional economic development; and

WHEREAS, the over 700 minority-serving Institutions (MSIs) are engines of opportunity, providing education to millions of students, many of whom are first generation and/or from historically underrepresented groups; and

WHEREAS, nearly a third of all college students in the U.S. receive Pell Grants, with close to 50 percent of students at MSIs qualifying for Pell Grants¹; and

WHEREAS, the Trump administration’s cuts to funding for MSIs and attacks on Pell grants threaten educational opportunity of these students, often pricing them out of college altogether; and

WHEREAS, nontuition expenses such as housing, groceries, childcare and transportation can be barriers that threaten students’ ability to complete college; and

WHEREAS, economic barriers to college are also attacks on students’ right to learn, and students do not have full freedom to learn if they cannot access affordable, high-quality higher education; and

WHEREAS, robust federal and state support for all public colleges and universities, including wraparound expenses like textbooks and transportation, improves people’s lives and makes our society stronger:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will reaffirm its commitment to making college affordable and accessible, a right for all and not a privilege of the wealthy; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will support federal and state policy to restore and expand public funding for colleges and universities, including expanding and strengthening Pell Grants, increasing TRIO and other access programs, ensuring funding for minority- serving Institutions; and 

RESOLVED, that the AFT will develop sample legislation, contract language, toolkits, and other resources to support our affiliates in their fight to best support students and provide them with the education they deserve; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will continue to work with partner organizations and to organize our members, our students and our communities to re-establish full funding for MSIs; expand and strengthen Pell grants, including indexing them to inflation; and expand legislative solutions to nontuition costs. 

Adopted July 18, 2026

1 Hispanic-Serving Institutions Accelerate Access, Deliver Strong Economic Returns for Students, Oct. 14, 2025